We hope you had a restful and restorative Memorial Day weekend.

Keeping up with the news, whatever your sources, can be overwhelming, exhausting. We're each bobbing on a churning news ocean. We are trying to stay afloat, swim with our heads held above water while being buffeted by wave after wave of news. At times, it can feel like we are swimming against a riptide.

None of us can afford to drown in the endless cycles. And we can't let others drown.

We can't ignore the Supreme Court's gutting of voting rights in the Calais decision, or the redistricting fight. But, is it possible to take a page from surfers and not only survive, but focus on catching only the most exhilarating waves? Feel joy, excitement, even optimism? Or, at least stay ready so we can catch the next big positive wave of change?

Surfers don't ride every wave. They rest, catch their breath after paddling out from the last ride. They ready themselves for the next, hoping it will be the big one. They breathe the salt air, enjoy the spray, the birds, the beauty. Before plunging back into the fray of their next big, and perhaps exhausting, wild ride.

It is tremendously hard to ignore each and every wave that comes along. These days, not drowning can feel like an accomplishment; there are so many legitimate reasons to be worried.

How do we avoid being swamped, keep our focus, and understand what we can do to make a difference over the months and years ahead?

We all know that the waves will continue to rise and fall unendingly. With the next Supreme Court decision, news from a battleground state, a development in the war, a legislative vote (or refusal to vote).

One of our least favorite things is to listen to someone we care about panicking because of the latest wave of news. While none of us can predict each wave, their arrival is predictable and constant. Alarms in the news will be amplified by social media, the blogosphere and fundraising emails (even if we are grateful for and love some of the organizations sending them).

Of course, at times we also get wound up or depressed by a new post, article or alert. But we cannot allow ourselves – or those we love – to rise and fall with every wave, to become obsessed or disillusioned.

There is no "one" piece of news that will dictate the birth or death of justice, our democracy. We can't know which waves will crash to shore and reshape the coastline. The future depends, in large part, on huge undercurrents that we can't directly and clearly control.

We cannot know, have never known, exactly how things will play out or when they will change. Some day, when we look back on what made the change we desperately craved possible, some of it will surely be a total surprise, unpredictable. Like the currents of popular will, the web, struggle, resentment, hope.

What can you do as you wait for the next big wave of change?

Please Don't Drown. Find Ways to Thrive and Stay Alert.

We all need to find solace and joy. Like the surfers, we all need to breathe in fresh air and find our own sources of comfort and beauty. We might find it spending time with people we love, or enjoying art, nature, music, literature or exercise. For us, it's most often some combination of family, friends, nature and art, particularly books, music and, yes, TV.

Most people find comfort in connecting to others, being with and appreciating what is uniquely human. Breathing deep. Finding things to make us laugh, and to cry, about things that help us feel and be human. Many take solace being in community with like-minded people. Art and activism have always gone together. We have friends who pursue their art contemplatively alone, and others who have found incredible energy and joy in massive choruses.

Real and positive major changes will come again. We all need to remain ready, and invest in ourselves, in what sustains us. And in others who are fighting hard, don't have the luxury of time off, and need our support. (They are tired!)

Even if we take some time off to recharge, we also have to find ways we can each effectively feel like – and be – effective contributors to change. To continue to fight, for justice, equality and democracy and against hate, authoritarianism and war. To participate in the work, and support others however we best can.

What to Do with Our Time and/or Our Money

Activists in communities across this country are doing inspiring work, and volunteers and donors are a critical part of it.

To borrow from our local Activist Evenings newsletter, some of us have Time, but no money; some have Money, but no time; others Time and money. All of it matters. We are, fundamentally, believers in all of the above. There is so much going on.

We each have something to contribute, and only you can make your choice. Today our contributions of time and/or money are needed more than ever: for ourselves, for our communities, for future generations, and for those that are bearing – and have always borne – the brunt of the injustice.

If you want to have an impact with your time, don't mourn, organize (there are so many options!). Sign up with Indivisible, Working Families Party, Movement Voter Project or the all-volunteer Force Multiplier. Get Out The Vote operations have already begun; sign up to Seed The Vote, to get active now or later this summer.

If you want to use your dollars to have an impact, there is so much work that still needs to be funded! The funding environment has never been more challenging. We shared our top early 2026 financial investments in our March Newsletter.

Here are a few more things that have inspired us over the last month or two, providing us other ways to fight back against injustice.

Support Southern Black & Brown Voters Targeted by the Calais Decision

Black organizers in the South are organizing to overcome the most aggressive voter suppression in 60 years. We continue to be blown away by the dedication and work of those who muster conviction and energy each day to make change, to protest, and to show up. To protect voters, the right to vote, our elections this fall. Despite the onslaught, the direct hits on their rights and communities.

If you are not Black, and are disheartened by the systematic dissolution of Black districts and constantly growing efforts to suppress the Black vote, take a page from – and send some money to – some of the leading Black activists who responded with conviction and might to the Calais decision.

A Couple of Ways to Invest in the South

• We've mentioned our confidence in The Black Voters Matter Fund (watch this 90-second video full of work and hope) (Donation link)
• Check out the North Carolina-based Southern Vision Alliance, a 10-year-old organization focused on infrastructure, mobilizing resources, and building collaboration. They prioritize support for young people, community organizations, and raising up trusted leaders of directly-impacted communities that are engaged in frontline struggles for justice, dignity, and change.

Support the SPLC Under Attack by the DOJ and Knee-capped by Fidelity, Schwab and Vanguard

Just think about that. We can all become numb to it if we're not careful.

The DOJ has been weaponized against the Southern Poverty Law Center, a 55-year-old foundational anti-hate and voting rights group. The DOJ is indicting SPLC for "fraud" for having anonymous informants inside the KKK and violent neo-Nazi organizations.

To add insult to injury, Fidelity, Schwab and Vanguard almost immediately stopped allowing donations to the SPLC via their Donor Advised Funds.

What can we do?

• Give to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
• If you have a DAF, check out the Free Your DAF toolkit.
• Support the ACLU which is leading the legal response, as they have done when press freedoms are attacked. (Read their statement about the DOJ attacks and the DAFs stopping support of the SPLC.)

Thank you for reading. We'd love to hear your feedback and ideas. Let us know how you are staying afloat, breathing deep and catching waves of beauty and joy.

Tom & Julia